Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Saturday Gig

This is what I get to do on Saturday's now. I've been working at one of the local flower shops for a few weeks - just five hours on Saturday. But this week the owner is on vacation so I'm working Wed/Thur/Fri from 9-5:30, then Sat. 10-3, then Mon/Tue/Wed 9-5:30.

I believe that being on my feet for five hours straight is what set off the pain syndrome I went into, which has blessedly been much better in the past week. But I have to admit to being a little nervous about this much work, this much standing time so many days in a row and still only four months after surgery.

I've been doing massage on Saturday immediately following work and that seems to be making a big difference so I'll continue with that. Also, the strain/counterstrain technique worked very well for me so I have another appointment for that.

I've been interested in the mind/body connection for a long time and what I've been doing along with the physical therapy is releasing the emotions behind the pain. I believe that until I do that, I may be looking at being in some considerable pain the rest of my life. Fortunately, it's working. My massage therapist is helping me with it and I'm using the technique Eckhart Tolle describes of bringing presence to the pain and the emotions behind it, many of which are very old. It seems I have a very heavy pain-body, which is not a good or bad thing, just a thing. I also think the same technique is helping me with other issues I've discussed in the past - maybe more about that later. :)

6 comments:

I absolutely believe emotions have an impact on our health. I just got over a case of shingles.. and finally realized, even looking at the rash, that it was old toxic stuff "bubbling to the surface" which is quite literally what shingles do.

Angela,I too believe that emotions affect our physical health--dramatically. In my particular case, I am a somaticizer--turn emotions into physical reactions in my body. In fact, I tend to become aware of my feelings for the first time via a bodily symptom. I am trying to change this by learning to feel my feelings and to deal with them, so that they don't have to manifest as physical problems.

Good for you for doing emotional work with your pain-body. I hope you feel better,

emotions causing pain: definitely. your body is a bunch of memory traces and believe me, as you get older, some of those memories come back to haunt you. what you're doing massage wise and so on sounds like a very smart idea, Angelabest to you

What is Eclectic Recovery?

Hi. I'm Angela. Eclectic Recovery is my blog and I welcome you to its pages.

ER began as an exploration into my ongoing issues with addiction/mental illness and the solutions I employed and experiences I went through attempting to navigate a course to health. Mostly they have been unsuccessful and ridiculous. Such, I find, is much of life.

My own problems with addiction have led me to catch onto the fact that virtually the entire world is addicted and that a forced detox is imminent. Peak oil, climate change & continued destruction, imperialism, corruption, global financial and food insecurity - these things will not go away just because we don't look.

My recent intense self-education into these issues still feels way behind the curve. At the same time, I realize that the majority of folks still can't stomach the topics and are in deep denial of our dilemma. But becoming informed and taking action, accepting responsbility and stepping up to the plate are going to, at the very least, make it much easier when you release that last breath. At best, you could get to be part of a revolution for change that will move us from an oiil-based, patriarchally defined way of life towards a reverence based society wherein all life is honored and we become, again, just another part of that life.

There's a lot of information out there and I believe I've gotten pretty good at separating the wheat from the chaff. I am called to provide anyone who happens to visit ER the good information I'm finding and attempt to engage them in action.